Have you updated your website for 2018?

need web and social media services?

When conducting an online search, it doesn’t take long to see which websites are up to date or not. Technology and design trends change so rapidly that even a site built five to ten years ago can look outdated today. That is why in 2017, 57% of business owners chose to invest in an updated and improved website.

Five years ago, web design focused on punchy, statement graphics. Drop shadows, glares, and image slide shows were a big trend in website design, but today they’ve gone out of style.

This year, flat design is the most widely received and accepted web design. Think simplified, minimalistic and easy to read. A clean home page with beautiful images, portraying an overall picture of the location of and services offered by the company, usually featured on a flat page where you scroll down for more information. For more specific information and bonus features, you can then click through to the internal pages. Contact me!

Your Website Is Not Mobile-Responsive.

Your Website Is Not Mobile-Responsive.

Think about instant gratification—that desire to have what you want, exactly when you want it. That’s how your average homeowner is scrolling through the web. If a website is non-responsive on a smartphone, 61% of people surveyed said they would switch to another link.

It’s more important than ever that your website is easily accessed and viewed on a mobile device because your potential clients are searching.

Websites are made with either a static or responsive design. Static websites, always fill device screens with the same format, regardless of screen size. Usually, viewing a static website on a smartphone means zooming in and out to clearly read information. Not a likely way to keep a potential customer’s attention.

A mobile-responsive website, however, contains coding written into the website’s design that allows it to expand, contract, or even completely change format depending on the device being used to view it. This makes the transition from a computer to a smartphone seamless—a comfortable user experience.

Your Website Uses Animation. (Or Even Worse…Has Music!)

Back in the day, it was trendy to animate text and have clip art flying across the screen when your website was opened. But unfortunately, it’s not cool anymore; it’s very distracting. People want to land on your site and find exactly what they’re looking for.

Online users, especially millennial homeowners, don’t want anything moving, popping, bleeping, or singing to them; these things could distract them from their goal. You definitely don’t want that to happen when you’re trying to make an impression and build trust in a potential customer’s mind.

Simplify your website design down to the basics; it should be easy-to-look at, and your potential customers’ eyes should be drawn immediately to the crucial information they need.

Your website should be your “lean, mean marketing machine.” When your website is pulled up online, people need to find the information that they’re looking for quickly. If people can find the information that they’re looking for without significant delay, they’ll like you, and they will come back to look you up again.

It’s important for you to be able to update your website content regularly. Relevant, helpful content creation is one of the top ways to please your customers, as well as rank higher in Google’s SEO. Being unable to post content to increase your business is a paralyzing place to be as a business owner. If you find it too hard to change, or to get changes made to your website, then this is the year to fix it.

Make this year the best year yet for building your online presence. If your website needs changes in any of these areas, make them. This will be beneficial to you not just this year, but in the future as well, as your website continues to draw potential clients to your company.